For more than 20 years the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) has been issuing annual reports on species considered to be at risk in Canada. Since this independent scientific group began its work in 1978, it has placed 339 species on this list, ranging from the high-profile Peregrine Falcon to more obscure species like the Wavy-rayed Lampmussel.

In the past COSEWIC has had little legislative clout as Canada has no federal law to protect endangered species. When COSEWIC determines that a species is endangered or threatened, recovery plans can be drawn up, but there is no legal way to ensure that an endangered species is protected.

This state of affairs could soon change as Canada has been working on federal endangered species legislation for several years. David Anderson, the new federal Environment Minister, is the third minister to take on the job of shepherding legislation through the political process. Once Canada has endangered species legislation, COSEWIC will most likely play a more prominent role.

COSEWIC is made up of federal, provincial and territorial wildlife officials, and representatives from government and environmental non-government organizations, as well as independent wildlife experts. The committee meets every April to consider which species should be placed on the "at-risk" lists.

Though the committee's job is basically over once the lists have been published, extensive work has taken place over the years to bring endangered species back from the brink of extinction. Peregrine Falcons and Wood Bison are just two examples of species whose numbers have grown because of recovery efforts.

Manfred Hoefs, the chief of habitat and endangered species management for the Yukon's Department of Renewable Resources, is the Yukon's representative on the committee. He says that once the committee has federal legislation to back up its decisions, there could be more intense scrutiny of which species are listed as endangered, threatened or vulnerable.

Hoefs adds that some disagreement will probably be inevitable when the committee considers species that have major commercial value. For example, he says that there were heated discussions when Atlantic Cod were on the agenda.

The commercial fishery for this species had already been closed in the North Atlantic, and the independent expert studying the species had advised that it should be listed as endangered. Eventually the committee voted to list Atlantic Cod as vulnerable in 1998.

He says that COSEWIC's role as an independent scientific body will be even more important once there are teeth in the endangered species laws. It is expected that under the new legislation, the committee's list will also be sent to a council made up of the federal, provincial and territorial wildlife ministers for approval. The ministers' council would also put any recovery plans into action.

"It is assumed that the minister's will agree with it," says Hoefs. "But the lists will still be made public regardless."

COSEWIC only considered vertebrates at first, but its mandate has expanded over time. In 1994 the committee began to consider moths and butterflies, and the first moss was put on the list in 1997.

The 26 voting members of the committee rely on advice from eight specialist groups for its recommendations. COSEWIC has considered 499 different species altogether, and they can be given one of eight different designations, ranging from extinct to not at risk.

While the definition of extinct -- meaning a species that no longer exists -- is unlikely to change much under the new legislation, other definitions could be tightened up.

For example, Hoefs says that the current definition of "endangered" as "a species facing imminent extirpation or extinction," is considered to be too subjective. With the new definitions, a particular species could be classified as endangered once its numbers dropped below a certain level.

An extirpated species is defined as one that no longer exists in the wild in Canada, but occurs elsewhere. Criteria for determining threatened and vulnerable species, which are considered to face a lower risk of extinction than endangered species, would also be more exact.

In the Yukon, only the bowhead whale is on COSEWIC's endangered list. Wood Bison were designated as endangered when they were put on the first list in 1978, but they now are classified as threatened. The status of Peregrine Falcons was changed from endangered to threatened just this year.

But Hoefs says that Yukoners should not be complacent about the healthy state of our wildlife populations. "One of the problems is how much the provinces know about their fauna and flora and how little we know. We look good on paper as we have only three species at risk, but that is partly because we have simply concentrated on game species and furbearers."

"The Yukon has not done much in the way of monitoring small game species and plants. We have four amphibians in the territory and just last year we made our first attempt to look at them," he says. "At least three of the amphibian species in the territory might be at risk, considering their limited distribution. We also need to do more plant surveys around the Yukon."

Hoefs points out the need for made-in-the-Yukon endangered species legislation as well as stronger federal laws. Most provinces and territories have committed to developing their own legislation and making it compatible with federal laws. Yukon legislation will probably include a commitment for setting up a territorial equivalent of COSEWIC.

Environment Canada is leading the transition team that is reviewing COSEWIC's guidelines, and information is available on the department's website at www.ec.gc.ca. The committee also has its own web site at www.cosewic.gc.ca.